Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
British Third Farthing
A tiny 1844 Victoria copper coin: young left-facing queen's bust obverse, crowned value reverse. One of Britain's smallest denominations, struck for Malta.
Circulation
Denarius of Marcus Aurelius
Roman silver denarius of Marcus Aurelius (c. 170-171 AD): laureate bearded emperor on the obverse, a standing personification on the reverse.
Ancient
Colombia 8 Escudos (Base Metal)
A base-metal (copper-alloy) piece styled after the colonial Colombian 8 escudos gold onza, with a Charles III profile and crowned heraldic arms dated 1760.
Colonial
J. Shaw & Co. Hardware Token
Copper halfpenny-sized merchant token advertising J. Shaw & Co., importers of hardware in Upper Town, issued around the 1850s.
Canadian & Provincial
New Brunswick One Cent
A bronze one-cent piece dated 1860 showing a steam locomotive with NB and ONE CENT — a New Brunswick locomotive-type token distinct from the official 1861/1864 cent.
Canadian & Provincial
Kenya 40 Shillings
A bimetallic Kenyan commemorative coin denominated 40 shillings, pairing a presidential portrait with the national coat of arms.
World
James Lewis and Company Civil War Token
A privately struck Civil War store card advertising Jas. Lewis & Co. of La Porte, Indiana, with a classical head obverse and a beehive reverse.
Token
Denarius of Faustina the Younger
Roman Imperial silver denarius of Faustina the Younger, showing her draped bust with an elaborate curled hairstyle and a standing deity or personification on the reverse.
Ancient
Duit (VOC)
A small copper duit struck for the Dutch East India Company (VOC), showing the crowned VOC monogram and the date 1790 on the obverse.
Early Modern
Contemporary Forgery of Louis XVI Ecu
A period-style counterfeit imitating a Louis XVI silver ecu: a copied royal portrait obverse and a copied standing-figure reverse dated about 1792.
Forgery
Spade Guinea Token
A base-metal imitation of the George III spade guinea, made as a gaming counter or advertising token, with a male profile obverse and a spade-shaped shield reverse.
Token
Denarius of Augustus
Silver denarius of Augustus (c. 19-18 BC) with his bare head and a comet-star of the deified Julius Caesar, inscribed DIVVS IVLIVS.
Ancient Coins
Silver Dirham (LACMA M.2002.1.437)
A thin, broad 8th-century Islamic silver dirham covered in Kufic Arabic inscriptions, with no portrait or image — only religious legends and decorative flourishes.
Islamic (Medieval)
Reis (Peninsular War)
A 1910 Portuguese silver Reis struck under King Manuel II to mark the centenary of the Peninsular War, dated 1808-1814 across the king's bust.
Modern
Counterstamped 8 Reales
A Charles IV silver 8 reales later punched with counterstamps and pierced with a central hole, layering a second life onto the classic Spanish dollar.
Colonial
Gold Stater of the Catuvellauni and Trinovantes
An Iron Age British gold stater of the Catuvellauni and Trinovantes, showing stylized wheat/barley ears on one face and a dynamic horse on the other.
Ancient
Disarmament Commemorative Ruble
A 1988 Soviet copper-nickel commemorative ruble marking the US-Soviet treaty that scrapped intermediate- and shorter-range nuclear missiles.
World Coins
Denarius of Vespasian
Silver denarius struck under the emperor Vespasian (AD 69-79), founder of the Flavian dynasty, with his laureate portrait on the obverse.
Ancient
Denarius of Domitian
Silver denarius of the emperor Domitian (81-96 AD), with his laureate portrait on the obverse and, typically, the goddess Minerva on the reverse.
Ancient
Bronze Coin of Corinth (Augustan)
A Roman colonial bronze struck at Corinth during the reign of Augustus, showing a laureate imperial portrait; the example here has a badly corroded reverse.
Ancient
Augsburg Commemorative Medal
A gold commemorative medal of the Free Imperial City of Augsburg, showing a detailed spired cityscape with religious imagery and a heraldic reverse.
Medal
Austria 25 Euro Silver-Niobium Commemorative
Bi-metallic 25 Euro of the Austrian Mint with a silver outer ring and a colored niobium core; the 2003 first issue honored the town of Hall in Tirol.
Commemorative
Spanish Colonial 8 Reales (Milled Bust)
The milled-bust Spanish colonial 8 reales—the classic “piece of eight,” a large silver coin bearing the Spanish king's portrait and royal arms.
Colonial
Alexander the Great Tetradrachm
Silver tetradrachm of Alexander III of Macedon with the head of Heracles in a lion skin and an enthroned deity holding an eagle on the reverse.
Ancient